Why You Should Learn Coding and How to do it
You Should Learn How to Code
Possibly one of the best pieces of advice you can give to someone starting their own business is learn coding and web design. Not only can it help you with starting your own business, but if you end up loving it, you can become a full-time programmer at a big tech company!
So why should you learn how to code?
It allows you to execute your ideas
Learning how to code might allow you to be able to get started with the startup you’ve always wanted to do; for example, you will be able to create a website for your business, or maybe an app, this will only improve your business and get more people to see it. A business can only be so successful without a proper online presence in this day and age.
It makes you have new ideas
Since the best way of coming up with new ideas is looking for problems, then pitching solutions to these problems, learning to code will massively help you in coming up with these business ideas. A programmer knows what can be done with coding and therefore sees how the problems everyone encounters in their daily lives can be streamlined. This can help you come up with an insane amount of possibly successful business ideas. A lot of daily tasks we do on our computers can be extremely tedious but if you’re a programmer, automating the task by writing a few lines of code can save you hours if not days of your time.
For example, if you have to constantly tweak a lot data in an extremely large spreadsheet, doing it manually will take you ages! While if you knew how to code, you will be able to automate this task with a few lines of code. This can help you on a personal level, but you can also potentially make a business out of it.
It improves your logical thinking and problem solving skills
“Everyone should know how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” -Steve Jobs
Computers are thought to be smart, when really they are quite dumb machines. However, they follow instructions given to them extremely well, making them potentially “smart” after being programmed. Since computers are not smart, this means you need to order your thoughts in a logical, structured manner when communicating with them. This logical way of thinking will sharpen your logical and problem solving skills.
How to Learn How to Code
Now you’re convinced that programming is one of the most valuable skills to learn nowadays, where should you begin?
I would recommend starting with web development; so learn HTML and CSS, you can use websites like Codecademy, freecodecamp or Youtube (freecodecamp is completely free but Codecademy has some paid courses). After learning HTML and CSS, learn Javascript; it will help you make your websites more interactive and responsive. You can also learn some nodeJS or react which are very similar to javascript.
If you’re not interested in web development, another amazing route you can take is learning Python. You can also use Codecademy, freecodecamp or Youtube. Python is arguable easier for beginners, and it is one of the most in-demand programming languages right now. With Python, you can automate tasks, do machine learning and Artificial Intelligence.
How hard is it?
Programming can be challenging, but learning the fundamentals of any programming language is pretty straightforward. After learning the basics, you might find it slightly hard, but there will be a moment where it all *clicks*, I promise. Also, with the abundance of free online courses on the internet right now, all you really need is some dedication to giving it some time.
Verdict
In conclusion, you should absolutely learn web development or Python because of the sheer benefits you will get as a result of it. Coding will become an even more integral part of our lives in the future, and learning it now will give you a decent head-start. Not to mention that it will improve your logical skills as well as the way you think about problems you face everyday.
